Ohio Utica Shale Production Falls in 2Q20, Down 2nd Qtr in Row
Each quarter the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) issues an update on Utica (and Marcellus) oil and natural gas production. Apparently ODNR no longer issues a summary press release as they once did. They have, however, published a detailed spreadsheet of all active wells showing oil and gas production by well, which we have below. We do our own summary to show you the top 25 shale gas wells and top 25 shale oil wells for the quarter. We also have a summary of the overall results from the experts at S&P Global Platts.
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Last week both Pennsylvania and West Virginia (but not Ohio) issued permits to drill new shale wells. PA issued 12 new permits and WV issued 2 new permits. The majority of PA’s permits were for a single well pad in Greene County. In fact, 10 of the 12 permits were issued in Greene County. Both of WV’s permits were for the same well pad in Marshall County.
Back in 2012 Gulfport Energy drilled a pair of exceptional Utica wells in Belmont County, Ohio–both on the same pad. The first was the Shugert 1-1H which had an initial production (IP) rate of 20 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (Mmcf/d). It also produced an initial 144 barrels of condensate per day, and 2,002 barrels of natural gas liquids per day (see 
Although Joe Biden is protesting (the lefty doth protest too much, methinks) that he would not ban “all” fracking if he’s elected president, his own words and the words of his pick for VP (Kamala Harris) say otherwise. Biden has endorsed most of the Green New Deal platform pushed by crazy Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Occasional-Cortex (AOC). So yes, if Biden is elected, fracking is pretty much done. Over. Fini. If fracking is banned, according to the Ohio State Grange it will be a catastrophe for farmers in the Buckeye State. Some farmers (many) will simply go out of business.
There’s potential trouble brewing for pipeline companies that own and operate big interstate pipelines that flow Marcellus/Utica Shale molecules to other regions. (Trouble for gas pipelines in other regions, too.) Some of the contracts for the earliest pipelines built or repurposed to flow M-U molecules out of the northeast are expiring. The customers, in many cases, were the drillers themselves (instead of utility companies and other gas customers). Drillers are pulling back and not likely to renew those contracts, at least not at the prices they signed originally.
The anti-fossil fuel zealots at the Scranton Times-Tribune (in Lackawanna County, PA) are doing their darnedest to try and stop an $800 million LNG liquefaction plant (generating hundreds of jobs) planned for nearby Bradford County. On Monday we told you the zealots were attempting to whip up a frenzy of opposition to the plant, based on trucks that would travel through the borough of Clarks Summit, a suburb of Scranton (see 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: California extends life for four coastal natural gas-fired plants; Approvals for new oil and gas wells up in California; NATIONAL: Demand for jet fuel in the U.S. is recovering faster than in many other markets; Power burns drive record U.S. natural gas consumption for June despite pandemic, production slide; U.S. LNG exports expected to bounce back, near capacity in months ahead; 30 years of drilling data points to a rebound in U.S. oil production; Schlumberger sells U.S. fracking business, and who can blame them?; The surprising jump in U.S. natural gas prices.